Filip Forsberg is currently ranked third on TSN. Button seems to think he has a release like Shanahan, a natural goal scoring winger. Edmonton are probably going to take a Defencemen. Grigorenko could be a wash he has fallen to 7th on the TSN list due to a lack of compete level. No more Russians!

We’re close now. Could the stars finally be aligning for this franchise…?

And I hear Quebec City is on deck. With Roy in the driver’s seat over there, Quebecor providing the propaganda and an established Coyotes team… You know it’s going to be absolutely nuts when those clowns get the Blue and White jerseys out of the mothballs.

This draft and this GM appointment are going to be that much more critical. We’re going to need one mega homerun! And for the kids who have never lived through the rivalry… and I mean the real rivalry before the Nords tanked for 6 years… Holy crap! It’s going to awesome!

Get ready for that announcement. It’s coming… and then… as that German guy says in the Three Amigos: “We play for keeps!”

Pittsburgh even if they beat Philly first round will be worn down. Boston in theory should get through Ottawa easier. But something to keep in mind, is those first round battles can galvonise a team. When Boston got through Montreal in 7 games last year, that win had huge significance to them and really was a springboard. If Pitt gets through Philly, in theory they won’t face a tougher series.

Wow didn’t realize Pittsburgh and Philly play again next Sat. to end the reg. season and then in all likelyhood they will play each other in first round. This is going to be some kind of battle. If your Crosby, you better make sure head is on a swivel.

Doubt it. How many goals does AK have since going over to Nash? They could draft a more dedicated player and take a run at AK this summer. AK belongs in Nashcity. No spotlight and he is with his brother. It’s always nice to brothers playing together.

“Because I always try so hard to win and had my troubles in Boston, I was suspended.”

If Rangers get by the Caps, their path to the finals will be smooth. Pens-Flyers will be a war. Panthers-Devils both aren’t good enough. If Ottawa beats the Goons, I don’t think they’ll have anything left for the Rags.

They won’t. Washington’s swagger is coming back just in time for the playoffs. NY Rangers are your finish-in-the-top 4-eliminated-by-round 2 type of team. I think a Canadiens team staggering into 8th would’ve knocked these guys out in the first round.

Well, my Guelph Storm are out of the playoffs, losing tonight 2-1 in overtime of Game 6 in what was one of the best hockey games I’ve seen all year. Great end-to-end action, very little post-whistle stupidity and some good hitting.

After catching Guelph’s home games, here’s what I can offer on their draft eligible players this summer:

Matt Finn: I think his stock will fall a little. He had a great regular season but was shaky in the playoffs. Made a lot of poor decisions when simple, quick passes would have sufficed to get the Storm out of their own zone. On offence, displays a remarkable patience and maturity on the blue line, ensuring his shots get through for tips. Also displays great vision in the offensive zone, making passes that are beyond what you usually see at this level. Will be the Storm’s captain next year. Was also a little lazy at times in the defensive zone…tends to float a bit when chasing the puck on clearances, which cost his team at times. He’s still likely to go in the first round, but he might fall into the 20’s. He’s got good size (6’0″, 197 pounds), but his conditioning needs some work…frequently looked gassed.

Scott Kosmachuk: A strong start to the regular season had him being bandied about as a first round pick, but he’s got to slide after his performance in the playoffs. Made extremely poor decisions all series long, trying to make cute plays in traffic against much bigger and stronger Plymouth players and turning the puck over at their blue line over and over. Not physical whatsoever. Good speed, but didn’t seem as quick at the end of the year as he did at the start. Suspect he’ll go in the middle of the second round, might even slip into the third round.

Tanner Richard – Relatively invisible towards the end of the series. He’s not physical, isn’t a particularly strong skater and doesn’t create much for himself. Went undrafted last year, but might get picked in 4th or 5th round this summer.

Patrick Watling – Didn’t get played much, but he’s a great skater who made good decisions when he was on the ice. Was earning more ice time by the end of the series due to the struggles of some of the key contributors amongst the forwards. Might be worth a late-round flyer for somebody looking for a project.

Brock McGinn – Good skater, but not much else. Could go in the late rounds, but most likely path if he’s ever going to play professionally is to become a shut-down guy.

Justin Auger – Somebody is going to draft this kid because he is huge (6’7″, 217 pounds) and he’s shown flashes of offensive talent. But this kid is a terrible skater…I was told that he grew a ton over the past year and that partially explains his skating, but he’s going to take a LOT of work and patience if he’s ever going to amount to anything. Absolutely no physical play whatsoever, despite his huge size. He should be playing a Keith Tkachuk or Brendan Shanahan style, but he thinks he’s Pavel Datsyuk.

For those of you who are keen on future prospects, three names to keep in mind for next year’s (2013) draft are:

Hunter Garlent: A 5’8″, 159 pound 17 year old center, he’s got great speed and is an incredibly hard worker on the ice…hustles everywhere. Very reminiscent of a young Ryan Callahan. Feisty, he would often charge in to stick up for teammates despite giving up 30 or 40 pounds and several inches to the Whalers players (they are an absolutely huge team). If he hits a growth spurt and can put on a bit of weight, I expect to see him climb quickly on the draft charts next season. He got off to a slow start this year, but he really came on in the second half. Had a great showing at the WU17 championships, leading Team Ontario with 8 points in 6 games (edging out fellow prospects Bo Horvat and Max Domi from the London Knights, who each had 7 points). Suspect he will be named captain in two or three years, once Matt Finn graduates. There is no doubt in my mind this kid will make it to the NHL…he is a good two-way center already, so even if his offence doesn’t come along the way I think it will, he could still work on becoming a defensive ace.

Jason Dickinson: This kid was the revelation of the playoffs. Hard worker, great skater, great hands and decent size (6’1″, 165 pounds) despite only turning 17 years old in July. Ended up with 3 goals and 5 points in 6 games, good numbers for such a young kid against a veteran Plymouth team ranked 6th in the country entering the playoffs. With some of their first liners graduating this season, Dickinson stands to put up much bigger point totals next season and could easily climb the draft rankings.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Name recognition (Todd’s cousin) will get him some extra love, and he’s certainly feisty. He started this season very small (5’9″, 150 pounds) but he had no issues fighting much bigger guys. He appears to have grown a bit, so I’ll be curious as to what size he checks in at for next season. Good skater and he hustles. Hockey IQ isn’t particularly high, and I’m not sure that he’s got much in the way of offensive talent.

Good night, all, good afternoon Shanghai if you’re on board, good mornin’ Europe. Homework assignment, how did 4 non-playoff teams from last year, Florida, Ottawa, New Jersey, St. Louis turn it around this year. Part of the answer: NOT by drafting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first overall.

Florida – Signing Fleischmann, acquired Versteeg. Got a great season out of Jose Theodore.

St. Louis – Better than they were playing last season, the coaching change forced that team to work hard all over the ice. The talent was there, they just needed a coach with a clue.

New Jersey – Injuries decimated the season of Parise and John MacLean was overmatched as an NHL coach. Emergence of Adam Henrique and Adam Larsson helped immensely.

Ottawa – Return to health of Spezza, Alfredsson, return to form of Gonchar and Kuba, better goaltending from Anderson and found a coach that the players respond to in Paul MacLean (and look at his background before Mike Babcock took him on as an assistant…he worked his way to where he is!)

Nope, I didn’t. Erik Karlsson is in his third year with the Senators…while his play is better this year, I think much of the increase in his numbers is due to having a couple of elite offensive guys (Spezza and Alfie) to play with.

St-Louis picked up some strong UFA’s. In August of last year I was hoping MTL would sign Langenbrunner and Arnott. They are cheap effective veterans. Let’s not forget that they are getting very strong goaltending. They are playing way above their level goaltending wise. They are playing like Anderson 3 years ago.

Jersey- they were the hottest team of the second half of last season. It only makes sense that adding Larson makes them much stronger. A smart coach doesn’t hurt either.

Ottawa- The emergence of Karlson and a quick new NHL rebuild and they are good to go.

Any team in this league can go from the basement to the playoffs in one year. This season displayed that very clearly. A couple UFA signing, a high draft pick, a new coach/GM and it can easily be turned around.

“Because I always try so hard to win and had my troubles in Boston, I was suspended.”

The Senators didn’t really rebuild all that much. None of the players they picked up last year, with the notable exception of 30-something goaltender Craig Anderson, is contributing to this year’s turnaround. Instead, it is the guys that were there last year too: Karlsson, Kuba, Gonchar, Spezza, Alfredsson, Michalek, Foligno and Phillips. Coaching and staying healthy are the big changes up there.

Two years ago on the St. Paddy’s day Bruins-Habs Saturday night matchup at the Bell Centre, some guy had a great sign against the glass while the chowderheads had their pre-game warmup: Lucic Sucks C*cks

Classic.

__________________________________
Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.

If you are not going to make the playoffs then you might as well get a high pick. I don`t like this year either being a die hard Hab fan but the only way to get something positive from it is to get a great pick. Just imagine being a Leafs fan, 2 bad years in a row and no number 1 pick. A horrible trade by Burke.

Wow, did I walk into that one. I wish I were that funny. Thanks for cheering me up a bit!!!

As for the high pick, there’s no way around it, I know. You work within the rules, like anywhere. But in the big picture of our idealism about hockey in Canada, that we like to think we’re just a little less brutally commercial than the big American sports – it just seems kind of a shameful way to get the pick. Like a mercy B.J.

Reminds me of a tip on how to decide to pick up a girl in a bar or not – you ask her her favorite bird… if she says “s_____w” – you’re golden.

thanks again for making me laugh. badly needed it tonight. Opening the second bottle of wine.

Do we all agree that Gallagher is out top Forward prospect? I was just checking his stats… He has 5G 5A 10 pts in 5 playoff games… Kid’s a machine… He sure impressed me during camp this preseason. Yes he is borderline midget but he knows how to use his size to his advantage. I think he can skate between Chara’s legs

I am cheering for Gallagher, just a great kid with a phenomenal attitude and a big heart. If he was 6 feet tall he would have been a 1st round pick and we never would have got him. Time will tell how much his size will be a detriment playing against pros. I see him as a Brian Gionta type player, not a bad thing.

I watched Gallagher play twice this WHL season.. I was very impressed… he dictated the whole game… He is a highly skilled, cerebral, go-to-the-dirty-areas, agitating player…
He is small, but he is strong… His father is a strength and conditioning coach and it shows… strong on the puck and a battler…
He’s a winner.
I know many have him slated for AHL duty but it wouldn’t surprise me if he sticks as a rookie…
update: Habs have an 18.8% chance at the first overall pick as things stand right now…

Random thoughts: Pacioretty wasn’t himself after the Letang hit/suspension… He said himself he questioned his physical play and was second guessing on the ice, sending him into a slump until he figured it out and went on to have a great season/second half… Has the same thing happened to Bourque after the Backstrom hit/suspension?? Is that where the physical 30 goal scorer went? Will he also figure it out and play to his potential?
Edmonton heads into the draft needing a stud defenseman… If they win the lottery, do we make a trade to move up with them..? Or do they just auto-draft Yakupov?
Calgary is out of the playoffs and will be deconstructed… Perhaps including trading their captain Iginla… What would it take for us to land such a player…? A trade of captains plus a prospect from our barn…? I think we make likely trading partners…
Thoughts on the above?

Uhh… I posted this a while back and for some reason it stuck it on the bottom of the page.

So I’m dying of a cold.
FML.
Anyway, a buddy of mine pointed out something interesting to me:
The Habs-Leafs game as season closer could be interesting if a higher draft-pick hangs in the balance.
If the loser gets a better pick, what happens to the game?!

If we win, and pound the Leafs into dust, do we still get to celebrate? Will people boo?

If we try to ousuck the Leafs, what does that do to pride, morale, and most people’s faith in humanity?

Echhhhh…. I hope the results of the remaining couple of games will prevent something as shitty as that happening.

Jaro played about 62 games for the Blues last year and they finished 11th in the West, and out of the playoffs. Astounding how there is no mention in the pro-Halak posts of these very salient facts. It`s late so I throw some barbs and say the Halak supporters are stuck in a time warp in spring of `10. Steve Penney had a good playoff run around 1984, and the dilettantes have probably never heard of him.